


12 Years and One Halloween Party Later

by gignikinszz



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friends to Lovers, Halloween, I do what I want, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, M/M, ahsoka and padme are tired and just want their dumbass friends to get together, author doesn't know when to stop using commas, because (and i cannot stress this enough), because i love halloween and i said so, by way of a lot of external meddling, feat. thriller and hot in herre because i said so, obi wan and anakin are idiots, or when to end a sentence, slight ooc-ness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:20:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26288641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gignikinszz/pseuds/gignikinszz
Summary: "Ahsoka was well and truly over Obi-Wan and Anakin pretending they weren’t in love with each other.Anakin had been in love with Obi-Wan since she had met him when she was eleven. Probably since before then, actually. The first time she’d seen the two together, she took one look at how Anakin was looking at his “best friend” and decided that one day, their inhibitions be damned, they were going to end up together."Or: In which Ahsoka Tano and Padme Amidala decide that their friends need to get together, and they need to do it on Halloween.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 20
Kudos: 145





	12 Years and One Halloween Party Later

**Author's Note:**

> hi!! i'm so excited to be posting this, i am PHYSICALLY vibrating. maybe it's the modern obikin, maybe it's the spooky season. i am so excited.
> 
> not beta'd, i like to live on the edge. enjoy!!

It was a gloomy October Tuesday when Obi-Wan realized he was in love with Anakin Skywalker.

He had just come home from classes and entered the apartment he shared with his best friend to the sound of “Thriller” blasting and Anakin, shirtless, deconstructing their vacuum. Why Anakin was shirtless, he didn’t know. Why he was playing “Thriller,” he also didn’t know. What the fuck Anakin was doing with the vacuum, Obi-Wan didn’t know either.

What he did know was that, all of a sudden, Anakin was well fit and tan and his lips were so perfect and Obi-Wan was so overcome with the urge to touch his chest, his abs, his shoulders, anything he could reach, that he completely missed Anakin talking to him until he looked at him like he was expecting something.

“Sorry, what was that?” Obi-Wan asked, trying to force thoughts of grabbing Anakin’s face and kissing him into next week out of his head. His stomach was suddenly doing flips for some reason he didn’t want to think about.

Anakin gave him a look. “I was just wondering how your classes were,” he said, clearly confused at Obi-Wan’s sudden inability to function.

“Oh, uh, they were alright.” _Fuck_ , Anakin’s full attention was on him. It was way hotter than it should have been. What was going _on_? “We’re just working on our mock trials. And we’re doing, uh, conflict of laws. Stuff”

Anakin snorted. “Sounds incredibly entertaining.”

Obi-Wan couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow and sass him back. “And what incredibly productive things were _you_ doing while I was off?” He left the _why aren’t you wearing a shirt_ and _when did you get really hot_ and _since when did I want to shove you back on the couch and do things I really shouldn’t be thinking about_ unspoken.

Anakin shrugged. “Oh you know, the usual. Work, working out, trying to fix our stupid vacuum.” Obi-Wan was _not_ going to think about Anakin working out, he wasn’t going to imagine him half-naked and sweaty and _hot_ and—

Luckily, that train of thought was cut off by Anakin standing up. “I was bored, actually, without you here,” Anakin said, giving him puppy eyes. It twisted his stomach into knots and sent a thrill running down his spine. _What is happening to me today?_

“I’m flattered,” Obi-Wan said as dryly as he could, trying not to let on that it actually _was_ flattering all of a sudden, that Anakin wanted to spend time with _him_. And on that thought, he decided that it would be best if he just made his exit before Anakin figured out something was wrong with him. “I have to study, though, so I’m afraid I’ll be unavailable until dinner at least.”

When Anakin pouted, Obi-Wan’s brain decided to shut down, and when the thought crossed his mind to bite the lip Anakin was sticking out, he decided to retreat to his room as quickly as possible to hit his head against his wall and maybe call a psychiatrist.

\--

Obi-Wan was acting weird, but Anakin assumed he was just stressed. Or he didn’t like “Thriller,” the greatest classic Anakin had somehow only discovered this year. Ahsoka had mocked him for days, but in his defense, he wasn’t a Halloween-obsessed freak like her. But that was beside the point. The point was that Obi-Wan had been dying to get out of the conversation and back to his room, and Anakin wasn’t quite sure why. He wasn’t mad at him, he hadn’t frowned and looked all disappointed. He’d actually seemed more… embarrassed, almost, though why, Anakin had no clue.

When Ahsoka and Padme came over for dinner, he decided to ask them, but they were absolutely terrible about it. They even had the gall to suggest that Obi-Wan was _flustered._ Because of _Anakin_. It was stupid. Not that that convinced them to let it go.

“Hold on, hold on, go through it with me again?” Ahsoka said, leaning over the counter where Anakin was chopping vegetables.

He rolled his eyes. “He comes home, I’m fixing the vacuum and listening to ‘Thriller,’ he looks at me all weird and doesn’t hear when I ask him how his day was, he starts stumbling over his words, then asks me what I did, I told him, he goes all red for no reason, then he dips, leaving me alone and bored _again_. Honestly, Snips, the man is probably just tired.”

“Didn’t you say you were shirtless, too?” Padme asked from over on the couch where she was scrolling through her phone.

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’d just been working out.”

“Did you tell him that?” Padme was sitting up now and leaning over the side of the couch to look more directly at Anakin.

“Yeah, after he asked me what I’d been doing—”

“So right before he got all red?” Ahsoka cut in with an evil smile.

Anakin scowled at both of them, deciding to ignore their collective point. “It doesn’t mean anything, okay? We’re only ever gonna be friends.”

He must have said it harsher than he thought, because they both shut up about it and mercifully changed the topic to the epic Halloween party the four of them were throwing, leaving Anakin to do his best to ignore the familiar ache in his chest when Obi-Wan finally came out to eat.

\--

As much as Obi-Wan tried to will away his infernal crush on his best friend, it seemed to just be growing in size. So much, in fact, that he found himself getting mad at _Padme_ about it. Padme. Who had been with Anakin for literally a week. When they were thirteen.

She was just coming over to borrow a couple eggs so she didn’t have to go to the store, but he honestly didn’t feel the jealousy until she pointed it out.

“Obi-Wan, what’s up with you?” She asked, after he told her (with what he thought was an appropriate amount of venom in his voice) to maybe buy her own eggs next time.

He blinked. There was nothing _up_ with him. “Nothing,” he said. “You’re just stealing all our eggs, and if Anakin wakes up tomorrow and there are none left, he’s going to be—”

“So this is about Anakin?” Padme asked slyly, raising an eyebrow.

“No,” he protested, if only for the sake of argument. Even he had to admit (internally, he wasn’t about to tell Padme) that his evidence was weak.

Padme just rolled her eyes. “Obi, I hope you know that first of all, you have literally half a dozen eggs left. Unless Anakin suddenly turns into Gaston, I think he’ll be fine. Also, Anakin and I dated for a week. When we were thirteen. And I broke up with him because he wasn’t really into me. So you can stop being all jealous about it.”

Obi-Wan felt his face heat. “I—I uh, um,” he stuttered, trying to figure out a good defense. “What?” He asked, trying to sound as legitimately confused as possible.

Padme raised a knowing eyebrow and Obi-Wan felt his throat go dry.

“I think you know what,” she said, leaning over the counter. “It’s not like you weren’t staring at him at dinner the other night.”

He cleared his throat and put his hands on his hips, determined to convince her that she wasn’t absolutely correct about him. “I most certainly was _not_ staring at him. Also, I’ll have you know that I have nothing to be _jealous_ about. You must be seeing things.”

“Sure,” Padme said lightly. “But if it makes you feel better, we didn’t even kiss.” Then she turned around with a wink and left before Obi-Wan could protest more. He was sure his face was flaming red and Padme knew _exactly_ what she had done. How had she even figured it out? And worse, if she knew, did Anakin? That thought made Obi-Wan panic a little. What would Anakin do if he found out Obi-Wan was thinking about him like that? Nothing good, most likely. It would probably mean the end of their friendship.

Obi-Wan tried to not dwell on that.

Instead, he convinced himself that it was just a minor crush, a product of all the years they’d spent together. Nothing to be worried about. He’d never found Anakin unattractive (in fact, he stuck to it that Anakin was the more attractive of the two, though when he told Anakin it just annoyed him), and they had always been incredibly close, so really it wasn’t a far stretch for him to develop such a thing. By the time he was one thinking about it and ready to go to sleep, he had thoroughly convinced himself that it was nothing.

Then he fell asleep and started dreaming.

He was standing in a house, a nice one. Obi-Wan didn’t recognize it, but whoever owned it was probably well-off. It was lovely, with wooden floors and warm lighting and comfortable looking couches. The TV was enormous, probably twice the size of the old box he had at his and Anakin’s apartment, and much flatter.

Obi-Wan could have gone on admiring the house for a lot longer (the coffee table alone was worthy of at least a few minutes of admiration), but he was broken out of his thoughts by two arms around his waist and a voice in his ear.

“The kids are in bed now,” Anakin said, punctuating the sentence with a kiss to Obi-Wan’s jaw.

“Mm, I should hope so,” he said back, leaning into Anakin’s kiss and accepting with dream-logic that this was his reality. “It’s almost ten.”

“That’s not so late,” Anakin murmured in his ear, hands moving down his stomach. “Not for us. We, unlike Luke and Leia, are not 5.”

Obi-Wan hummed, trying to ignore the heat below Anakin’s still-moving, painfully slow hands. “I suppose you have a point,” he said, voice barely there.

Suddenly, Anakin moved his hands to Obi-Wan’s hips to turn him around, then pressed a lengthy kiss to his mouth that left Obi-Wan rather breathless.

“Couch,” Anakin said, voice husky with want, and Obi-Wan gladly went and the dream got sweeter, better, hotter, until Obi-Wan woke up with a head full of Anakin, and a heat below his navel he couldn’t ignore, and a guilty awareness that he had liked _everything_ about the dream, and the truth, right in front of his face.

\--

The way Padme and Ahsoka talked to him, Anakin could almost swear they thought he was clueless. As if Ahsoka hadn’t asked him point-blank after the first time she’d met Obi-Wan if he was in love with him, and as if Padme hadn’t told him as she was breaking up with him that maybe he should go after Obi-Wan, because Anakin was definitely more into him. As if he hadn’t been honest with both of them and told Ahsoka that he was and told Padme that he wasn’t just more into his best friend, he was in love with him.

Despite what they seemed to think, it wasn’t that he wasn’t perfectly aware of his feelings for Obi-Wan, not at all.

Anakin figured it out for the first time the week he tried to date Padme, back when they were 13. The fourth day of it, he’d been with her on her doorstep, thinking he might try and kiss her, when he’d leaned in and wondered why she didn’t smell like Obi-Wan and had to suddenly backpedal and he told her that her breath smelled in a panic so he could make his exit and try and figure out why it was Obi-Wan he wanted to kiss so badly.

Anakin figured it out when they were 16, too, and Obi-Wan’s father died and he leaned into Anakin and cried and cried after the funeral. The sound and feel of it shattered Anakin’s heart, and he cried too, not because Qui Gon was dead, but rather because Obi-Wan was breaking in half and there was nothing he could do to help except to hold him and pet his hair and cry with him. It made him feel guilty, the feel of Obi’s hair in his hands and how beautiful he looked when he finally sat back up and how Anakin would have done _anything_ to take the pain away. To want his best friend in such a moment was probably obscene, but his lips were red and Anakin wanted to make him feel _something_ else, if only for a moment.

He figured it out again when they were 18 and about to graduate and he’d gotten in that car accident and lost his arm, and when he woke up at the hospital Obi-Wan had been asleep next to his bed, having refused to leave the night before. When he’d asked him about it, he had just told Anakin it was just what friends did for each other, and Anakin wanted to cry and throw his arm and a half around him and kiss him until neither of them could remember the accident. And, like a heartbeat, he knew it yet again when Obi-Wan was the first person to grab his metal hand like it had always been there.

He also figured it out when they were 20 and they moved in together, and there were a few mix-ups in the bathroom, and accidentally seeing Obi-Wan naked did more for him than anyone he’d ever been with, even all embarrassed and awkward and fleeting. The moment Anakin had gotten back to his room and locked the door, he thought about _Obi-Wan_ until he didn’t feel so desperate for him anymore, and after, realized yet again that he was well and truly ruined for him.

And so there they were, 25, and Anakin still loved him desperately, not sure what to do with it but dream and pine away and sleep with other people and think about Obi-Wan every goddamn time, and to hate every single person Obi-Wan dated (even Padme’s friend Satine and Rex’s friend Cody) so much, until they all figured it out, one by one, and all of the relationships fell apart for some reason or another, one by one, and it was just Anakin and Obi-Wan and everything Anakin hadn’t said yet, for then and probably forever. It was Heaven and it was Hell, to be so in love and so close and always so far.

But there was no chance Obi-Wan felt the same about him. Not even when Anakin was shirtless and he was staring, or when they fell asleep on the couch together and Obi-Wan always woke up with a heated face. It was just Obi-Wan, and that was just him, and that was the way it had always been.

Anakin wasn’t about to ruin everything now.

Even if Padme and Ahsoka and Rex and literally everyone he knew kept telling him to make a move, he had made up his mind. He would rather be Obi-Wan’s friend forever, always stuck wanting more and never getting it, than ruin everything by saying something the other didn’t want to hear.

So no, it wasn’t that he didn’t know. He just wasn’t interested in the idea of losing Obi-Wan, and to tell him how he felt would surely destroy their friendship forever.

Explaining this to his meddling friends was a far more difficult task than owning up to it himself, as evidenced by their frequent discussions about why and how Anakin should confess to Obi-Wan.

“Come on Anakin, it won’t go badly,” Ahsoka said.

Anakin gave her a dark look. “Yes, it will, and our friendship will be ruined, and I’ll never see him again, and it’ll be your fault and you’ll have to pay for my funeral when I die of sadness.”

“You’re not going to die of sadness, Anakin, that’s not a thing,” Padme sighed. “Besides, what if he likes you back?”

“He doesn’t,” Anakin said, exasperated. “He just doesn’t. If he did, I would know, and I know that he doesn’t.”

Ahsoka and Padme shared a look.

“Anakin, do you even know what Obi-Wan is _like_ when he’s attracted to someone?” Padme asked. “It’s a serious question.”

Anakin huffed. Of _course_ he did, he’d had to spend an annoying amount of time around all of Obi-Wan’s significant others. “Yeah, he spends time with them to the point of dropping other responsibilities, he prioritizes them, he does what they want, even if he hates it, he—”

“And it’s not like he’s ever done something like that for you,” Ahsoka said, raising an eyebrow.

Anakin was opening his mouth to tell her that no, of course he doesn’t, when he remembered the time Obi-Wan had driven him to McDonald’s at 3am because he was maybe a little drunk and _craving_ fries, and even though he’d been so mad about it, he went anyways, and by the time they were done, Obi-Wan didn’t seem so mad at all.

He cleared his throat. “Maybe sometimes. A little bit. But it doesn’t mean anything!” He refused to give himself false hope. There was no way what they were saying was true, it wasn’t possible.

Padme and Ahsoka both raised their eyebrows at him.

“Just think about it, Ani,” was all Padme said before the subject mercifully changed and he could put thoughts of Obi-Wan away from his mind for a moment.

\--

_iT dOeSN’t mEAn aNYtHiNg. wE’Re oNLy eVeR gONnA bE fRiENds. i dOn’T kNoW wHAt yOu’RE tALkiNg aBoUT._

Ahsoka was well and truly over Obi-Wan and Anakin pretending they weren’t in love with each other.

Anakin had been in love with Obi-Wan since she had met him when she was eleven. Probably since before then, actually. The first time she’d seen the two together, she took one look at how Anakin was looking at his “best friend” and decided that one day, their inhibitions be damned, they were going to end up together.

Or, at least, hook up. Anakin really needed it, judging by the way he kept staring at Obi-Wan’s mouth.

As the years went by, though, she noticed it in Obi-Wan, too. It was subtle, but it was there. The looks that always lasted a second too long, the lingering hugs, the way Obi-Wan would lean in to talk to Anakin and the way he smiled when Anakin leaned in too. The time Obi-Wan had an earring and kept it for 6 months, until Anakin got drunk and admitted he hated it, and the next morning it was nowhere to be seen.

It was so obvious, it physically pained her that they apparently didn’t realize their feelings for each other. And, according to Padme, Obi-Wan wasn’t even aware of what he was feeling for Anakin.

So, the night they all had dinner together and Obi-Wan stared at Anakin and _blushed_ , Ahsoka made up her mind. She was going to get them together, and she was going to do it at their Halloween party. Her sanity depended on it. All she needed was a plan, and the second it was just her and Padme, she and the other woman plotted until they had something nearly foolproof. Which was good, as they were dealing with a couple of fools.

It was only a matter of time.

\--

Over the following weeks, Obi-Wan did his best to ignore his feelings for Anakin and act like everything was normal, with varying degrees of success. Ahsoka, it seemed, was more than aware of it (judging by the looks she kept giving him), and even Rex sent him a text that said, “anakin? really ??”, which Obi-Wan did not dignify with a response. And since Rex knew, Cody probably knew, and since Cody and Satine liked to (kindly) talk shit about him, she probably knew too, and Vos had already been teasing him for years…

Anakin, thankfully, seemed oblivious. He was probably just too caught up in planning for Halloween. It wouldn’t last forever, but it was a distraction nonetheless, and Obi-Wan was grateful for it.

Not that it wasn’t distracting Obi-Wan, as well. Between law school and trying to convince Anakin that _no, everyone likes jello, you’re just weird_ , the weeks went by fast, and before he knew it, it was Halloween.

And he didn’t have a costume.

“ _You didn’t get your costume?_ ” Anakin screeched, making Obi-Wan jump out of his skin.

“I was busy, and I just kind of… you know…” he held his palms out in defense, but Anakin was still crossing his arms and glaring.

“You _forgot_? Obi-Wan, it’s _Halloween_. I _know_ Qui Gon raised you better than this, god.” The mention of his father sent an all-too-familiar twinge through Obi-Wan’s heart, but he didn’t have a lot of time to feel sad. Anakin took his hands away from where they’d been resting on his hips and grabbed Obi-Wan’s forearm with his metal hand, sending a flurry through his stomach and ceasing all his thoughts except _Anakin is grabbing my arm_. “Come on, let’s see what we have. Fucking dumbass. _Fred_ may be a himbo, but I honestly didn’t expect this from _you_.”

_What the hell is a himbo?_ Obi-Wan thought, and rolled his eyes, trying not to think about the fact that Anakin was literally _dragging_ him into his bedroom. Thankfully, they got there before his mind could spiral down into connotations.

“I was busy, okay? Besides, I probably have a sweater or something that’ll look fine.” His defense clearly wasn’t holding up, as Anakin whipped around to glare at him, still being overdramatic.

“I sure hope so,” he said, poking him in the chest. Somewhere between the sitting room and Obi-Wan’s bedroom, the hand around his arm had loosened its grip and fallen to hold his hand, and Obi-Wan couldn’t quite make himself let go of the metal fingers.

It was Anakin who separated them, if only to open Obi-Wan’s closet and start going through all of his clothes. It wasn’t that he hadn’t done it before, but Obi-Wan was suddenly feeling incredibly nervous about it. What if Anakin found something he didn’t like? It was so stupid, it was _ridiculous_ , but he couldn’t quite shake the thoughts from his head.

Finally, Anakin seemed to find something he liked. A denim button-up Obi-Wan didn’t think he’d ever worn before and a sweater that he had once loved but had apparently lost in the back of his closet and forgotten about. How Anakin found them, he had no clue, but at the sight of the sweater, he jumped up from where he had been sitting on the bed.

“Oh my god I forgot about this!” he said, grabbing it. It was stupid to be so excited about it, but it was his old favorite, and _Anakin_ had found it. He looked Anakin in the eyes and, without thinking, pulled him in for a hug. “Oh my god, thank you!”

Anakin laughed a little awkwardly, breath ghosting over the topO of Obi-Wan’s hair and arms thrown loosely around his waist. He waited a few moments, letting them both sink into the hug and giving Obi-Wan time to catch a good whiff of Anakin’s scent, before he spoke again.

“Anything for you, Obi.”

Maybe it was the nickname, maybe it was Anakin telling him he’d do _anything_ for him, but Obi-Wan freaked out a bit and jerked out of the hug just as quickly as he’d pulled Anakin in. When the other man looked at him oddly, his brain flatlined.

“Uhh,” he said, trying to think of something to say. “Thanks again. I should, uh change.”

Anakin nodded, then smiled again. “Don’t take too long,” he said with a wink. Obi-Wan tried to ignore the turning of his stomach as the other man closed the door, but once it was shut, he took another look at the sweater and he was gone.

\--

“Alright, I have a confession to make,” Ahsoka, now dressed as Velma, said to Rex, Cody, and Satine, who were all standing in a circle and talking with her and Padme.

“You’re gay?” Rex asked, confused. “Ahsoka, we know.”

Ahsoka snorted. “No, not that. That would be a lousy confession. Me and Padme—”

“Hey now, I’m not going to be complicit in this,” the older woman, now the spitting image of Daphne, said. Ahsoka had to take a moment to appreciate how well their group costume turned out before responding.

“You already are, you’re the one talking to Anakin.” Ahsoka turned back to the others. “As I was saying, me and Padme have a plan to get Obi-Wan and Anakin together. Tonight.”

Cody and Satine raised their eyebrows and gave each other a look.

“Are you sure it’s going to work?” Satine asked. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for it, but—”

“—Obi-Wan is quite literally the most obtuse person on the planet. You could tell him to his face that Anakin is in love with him and he still won’t believe you,” Cody cut in.

“Ask us how we know,” Satine muttered.

Padme laughed. “We know, don’t worry. That’s why _we’re_ not going to tell him. Anakin is.”

Rex gave them a confused look. “I’m not sure if you two have met Anakin, but—”

“We know Rex, we know. Look, just don’t worry about it. We have a plan, remember?” Ahsoka said. “It’s pretty good, if I do say so myself.”

When Ahsoka was done telling them the plan, they were all suitably appeased to let it go on.

“I’m still not sure that this is going to work,” Satine said.

“That’s the beauty of it,” Padme said. “If it doesn’t, we can all just say it was the alcohol and go on like normal.”

It was then that Anakin and Obi-Wan walked up to join the conversation, and Ahsoka and Padme made eye contact and smiled.

It was time to get the idiots together.

\--

Obi-Wan was having a surprisingly easy time not being distracted by Anakin. Or, rather, his feelings for Anakin.

They had been together since the beginning of the party and now, walking over to talk with Padme, Rex, Satine, Cody, and Ahsoka, Obi-Wan was still feeling alright. Sure, every time Anakin touched him he felt like jumping 30 feet in the air, but that was beside the point. Obi-Wan was doing great.

Once they got there, though, everyone started acting weird. From the looks he was getting, he was pretty sure everyone knew about his feelings, and he didn’t like it. Then, just as he and Anakin were starting to settle in, Ahsoka quite literally _begged_ him to go get her pretzels and jello, even though the snack table was literally two seconds away. He tried refusing, but then Anakin asked for pretzels too and, well, how could he say no to that? He pretended not to notice Satine and Cody giving each other a look behind his back as he went.

Only a few moments after he got back to the group, Padme dragged Anakin off somewhere (Obi-Wan was _not_ getting jealous. Not at all), and before he knew it, he was watching Anakin take shots.

_This is all Padme’s fault_ , Obi-Wan thought, 10 minutes later, when Anakin was borderline grinding on him to “Hot In Herre” and sticking his hands up Obi-Wan’s shirt in a way that made it rather difficult to breathe. The insufferable woman _knew_ Anakin had basically zero alcohol tolerance and that, if drunk, he would dirty dance with literally anyone willing. Which tonight, apparently, was Obi-Wan.

Anakin’s breath was on his ear as he sang the words and his hands wandered over Obi-Wan’s chest, sides, and back. His flesh hand was so _warm_ , and even the metal one wasn’t too cold. Not wanting to be awkward, Obi-Wan had put his hands on Anakin’s shoulders, but was regretting it as his hair was so _close_ , and if he just moved a _little bit_ , he could—

He was distracted from that thought by Anakin mouthing at his earlobe and jawline in a way that sent heat dripping down abdomen. An involuntary noise escaped his mouth that there was _no way_ Anakin didn’t hear it. Thankfully, he didn’t say anything and just kept his mouth on Obi-Wan’s jaw, breathing and kissing, and making Obi-Wan a mess. He didn’t know how long he was going to survive this. It felt _so good_ , it was _torture_ —

Finally, mercifully, the song ended and he took the opportunity to extricate himself from Anakin’s grasp and disappear into the bathroom to try and cool down. It really had been hot in there, and Obi-Wan was just noticing how sweaty he was. He was also breathing rather rapidly and was apparently, really turned on. Though none of that should have been surprising, really.

He turned the tap water on cold and splashed it on his face, trying to slow his breathing and think of _anything_ but Anakin touching him and wetly kissing his face. It had been so obscene; it had felt so good; it could have come from a dream. But he forced his thoughts away from that and other dreams, forced himself to think about laws, about conflict of laws, about various Supreme Court decisions…

When he finally felt cool enough to face the party again, he opened the door, only to be faced with a very red Anakin.

\--

Anakin didn’t know why he had agreed to Padme’s stupid plan. It wasn’t like Obi-Wan even felt that way about him or would ever. All the times he had put Anakin first, no matter what, were just out of platonic love. His massive, eternal crush on his best friend was never going to be requited, and that was that. No matter how much Anakin wanted him, Obi-Wan was never going to reciprocate.

Still, he found it hard to say no to her stupid “pretend-to-be-drunk” plan when it involved him getting to touch Obi-Wan under his shirt and dance with him like that. It had all been going exactly as expected, though, with them dancing and Anakin being handsy and Obi-Wan not really reciprocating (except to put his hands on Anakin’s shoulders and shift his fingers ever-so-slightly towards his hair, which Anakin wished he would just _grab_ already). That is, until Anakin started getting brave, kissing Obi-Wan on his ear and jaw and oh god, the _sound_ he made. It made Anakin falter for a moment, gasping open-mouthed against his skin, but he wasn’t sure if Obi-Wan noticed, as had already started breathing a _lot_ more rapidly, and that probably had something to do with Anakin leaving almost-hickies on his skin.

Still, it was something. _Probably just the alcohol_ , Anakin had told Padme, but she insisted it was something more and she and Ahsoka (who really shouldn’t have been there, in Anakin’s opinion. It wasn’t like he had waited until 21 to drink, but she was only 19, practically a baby) had forced him to stand outside the bathroom he had shut himself in and wait.

So there he was, waiting for his best friend to come out of the bathroom so he could make some bullshit attempt at explaining what he’d been doing.

When Obi-Wan finally did come out, all he could do was stare. Strands at the front of his hair were wet, and the other man was looking at him like… something. Neither of them spoke for an awkward moment. Searching for something to say, Anakin tried to listen to the music. A new song was starting, and Anakin grabbed at the conversation topic with everything he had.

“Thriller,” he said, gesturing vaguely back to the party.

Obi-Wan looked down and muttered something that sounded a lot like, “of course it is,” then nodded at him with a smile that was tight around the edges.

Realizing that talking about something else simply wouldn’t work, Anakin decided that if he was going to lose his best friend tonight, he may as well just be direct so it would at least be quick.

“Obi-Wan, I’m actually sober and—”

“Anakin, I have to apologize—”

They stared at each other for a moment longer, realizing they’d talked at the same time.

“Can I…?” Obi-Wan asked. Anakin nodded. Whether or not that was merciful, Anakin had no clue.

“I wanted to apologize, for back in there, I know you’re drunk, but I shouldn’t have gotten so, um, excited. I swear to you, it’s not going to be that big of a deal, in fact, I’d rather just ignore it and still be friends…”

Anakin tuned Obi-Wan out as the man started overexplaining. Excited? _It’s not that big of a deal_? What in all hell could he possibly have meant by—

Oh. _Oh._

Now that Anakin knew it, he felt so _stupid_. Obi-Wan had been acting weird because, well… The same reason Anakin had been acting weird almost their entire friendship. Anakin hadn’t thought it possible, but Obi-Wan’s words, the look in his eyes, the _noise_ he had made when they were dancing—it was a puzzle fitting together in Anakin’s mind. The signs, the way Obi-Wan had always cared, had always been there for him. It was all making sense.

And, as soon as he had that epiphany, he decided that he wasn’t going to wait any longer. He’d done enough of that.

So, before Obi-Wan was even done talking, his words still falling out of his mouth and passing right through Anakin’s ears, Anakin stepped closer to him and, with bravery he didn’t even know he had, grabbed the other man’s shirt and kissed him.

Obi-Wan, instead of kissing him back, awkwardly pushed away.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan said. There was a mix of emotion in his voice, on his face. Sadness, desperation, overwhelming affection. It threatened to knock Anakin over. “You’re drunk,” he finished.

Anakin blinked. “What?” he asked.

Confusion added into the mix of emotion on Obi-Wan’s face. “You’re drunk,” he repeated.

Oh. Padme’s stupid plan. He had forgotten. He snorted. He was going to beat her ass when he was finished convincing Obi-Wan he was sober and kissing him thoroughly.

“I’m not,” he said. When Obi-Wan gave him a weird look, he hastily explained. “It was Padme’s idea. She told me to take a couple shots of water and pretend to be drunk. And dance with you. And see how you reacted. Except I didn’t really get it until you started explaining, so then I kissed you because I’ve kind of wanted to for, like, 12 years, but you still think I’m drunk. Which I’m not.”

Obi-Wan was still giving him a look like he was drunk rambling and he wanted it to stop. Anakin sighed and put a hand on his forehead.

“Do you want me to take a breathalyzer test or something?” He asked, really tired of Obi-Wan’s look.

It took a couple long, awkward moments, for the shorter man to speak.

“So… all this… not alcohol?” He choked out. Honestly, he was lucky Anakin could practically read his mind.

Anakin shook his head and grabbed one of Obi-Wan’s hands. He was doing his best to be patient, but honestly, Obi-Wan was being so thick right now.

“No,” he whispered, stepping closer until they were inches from each other.

“Oh,” Obi-Wan said, eyes flicking downwards. “Cool.”

This time, it was Obi-Wan who kissed him. It was gentle, a simple caress of lips and a hand on his shoulder, and it was nice, but Anakin soon got impatient and grabbed the other man’s face to deepen it. He responded well, snaking his hand from Anakin’s shoulder into his hair, and _god_ it was good. A thousand times better than the thousand times Anakin had imagined it. He could’ve lived in that kiss.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have that much time to, as they were interrupted by a very loud “HA!” coming from the direction of the party.

Anakin jumped out of his skin and Obi-Wan let out a very frightened noise that made their interrupter laugh a little.

Ahsoka was standing with a triumphant grin on her face. “I knew this plan would work,” she said, sounding very self-satisfied.

Anakin scowled at her. “This was _your_ idea?” He asked. “I’m going to—”

“—Thank her, because now you two can stop pining after each other,” Padme finished, appearing behind Ahsoka.

Obi-Wan, who was still holding his hand, Anakin noticed, shrugged. “I suppose I can’t exactly complain,” he said. “Though I still don’t appreciate the meddling.”

Anakin covered Obi-Wan’s mouth with his free hand. “He is complaining, don’t listen to him,” he said over Obi-Wan’s muffled protests. “Now let us be, you interfering freaks.”

Padme and Ahsoka just laughed and left, probably to go tell everyone about the new development in Anakin and Obi-Wan’s relationship.

As soon as they were gone, Anakin turned back to Obi-Wan. Now that he knew how Obi-Wan felt, and especially now that he knew Obi-Wan knew, there was one more thing he had to do.

“I love you,” he said, meaning it. It had been 12 years coming, and to get it out in the open at last felt incredible.

Obi-Wan looked dumbfounded. He stood there for a moment, mouth open and looking at Anakin with such blatant affection it made him want to cry, before speaking.

“Thriller,” he said.

Anakin was confused. Was that a normal response to a confession of love? He’d never told anyone he loved them romantically before. This certainly wasn’t what happened in the movies. “What?” He asked.

But Obi-Wan just smiled stupidly. “Thriller was playing when I got home the day I figured out I was in love with you.”

Anakin blinked. He had listened to Thriller a _lot_ over the past month, but he’d only really started liking the song… this year…

“Hold on, you realized you loved me _this year?_ ” And then, a more pressing thought: “Wait, _you’re in love with me too_?”

Obi-Wan grabbed Anakin’s waist with both his hands. “I would have to confess to both of those charges, yes,” he said, suddenly very cheeky for a man in a stupid-looking sweater. Honestly, the thing was horrible. Anakin had hidden it in the back of the other’s closet for a reason, but the reaction he’d gotten when he pulled it out had _almost_ been worth bringing the ugly thing back to the light of day. Almost.

Anakin grabbed at the other man’s hands, ignoring the horrible sweater and jokingly trying to remove them. “Hold on, so I have to be in love with you for _twelve years_ and you’re only in love with _me_ for a _month_ and you act like _you’re_ the one who’s been waiting?” he asked, jokingly incredulous.

“I never said that I was waiting!” Obi-Wan protested, but he couldn’t quite keep a straight face.

In response, Anakin smirked, holding Obi-Wan’s hands tight and leaning in so they were almost kissing again. “Sure felt like it though.”

Obi-Wan only rolled his eyes. “You’re still insufferable, you know that, right?”

Anakin smiled and kissed him instead of responding, because he could and Obi-Wan _loved_ him and even though he was going to probably kill Padme and Ahsoka later, he was secretly more than a little bit happy they did it because now he was kissing Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan was kissing him back and everything was finally right with the world.

**Author's Note:**

> aNd tHeN tHEy LiVEd hApPiLY eVeR aFTer
> 
> thank you for reading !! have a good day/night/whatever it is where you are >:)) <3<3


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